East Lansdowne man charged in storage thefts

UPPER DARBY -- The East Lansdowne man wanted for his alleged involvement in multiple thefts from storage lockers for months was captured by police Monday night.

Michael Cripps, 38, of the 100 block of Beverly Avenue, was located inside a house on the first block of Springton Road, Upper Darby.

"Officers received information on his whereabouts and we grabbed him out of bed," police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

Cripps and co-defendant Dallas Jackson, 44, of the same East Lansdowne address, are facing theft charges for allegedly emptying the contents of numerous self-storage bins and selling many of the items at an auction in Berlin, N.J., and on eBay.

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Jackson has been in custody since Nov. 24 after police searched the apartment the two men share and recovered tools, toys, DVDs, TVs, packaged games and videos reported stolen from the lockers.

Police began investigating the thefts in early October when a man who rented two units reported the locks changed and the contents, valued at $20,000, missing.

"The victim noticed some of his stuff being sold on eBay and was able to track the merchandise and seller which he provided to detectives," Chitwood said. "The seller was contacted and provided information on the persons who allegedly sold her seven items for $2,880 that belonged to the self-storage renter."